“Government requests to restrict speech online alongside threats to shut down online services are severe and have a chilling effect on people’s ability to express themselves,” the spokesperson said.
Elon Musk’s social media platform X has suspended several accounts belonging to journalists and opposition figures since the outbreak of the civil unrest, despite the tech billionaire’s claim to be a “free speech absolutist.”
In 2024 Meta received 5,677 requests from Turkish authorities to remove content, 4,199 of which came from Turkey’s communications authority, Meta’s transparency report said.
Meta heeded 40 percent of the requests, the report said.
Musk’s X, which has largely complied with the orders, has said it is fighting Turkish government orders to protect free speech.
That includes appealing to Turkey’s Constitutional Court over an order to block 126 accounts. However, the order in question predates the current wave of protests by several weeks, according to a document seen by POLITICO.
